- By Ash
- in Reviews
Grim Dawn has been around for over a decade. It's one of the most beloved ARPGs out there, and somehow... I've never played it. I guess Path of Exile and Diablo just kept me occupied.
But with the launch of the Fangs of Asterkarn expansion, I finally bit the bullet and dove in. And after spending two weeks playing as a wizard-werewolf, getting showered in absurd amounts of loot and just kind of repeatedly murdered - I must admit, Grim Dawn has been one hell of a surprise!
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Despite always being curious about it, I must admit I was terrified of trying 7 Days to Die. Not because of spooky scary zombies, but because I've never seen a game's community this consistently angry at the people who made it.
So naturally, I always assumed the game was a complete dumpster fire. But a few weeks ago I finally bit the sham sandwich and dove in, and let me tell you - 7 Days to Die is not what I expected. Not even close.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Warframe is one of the best co-op games out there, but starting it is genuinely terrifying. After thirteen years of updates, the game now has more systems and features than a jumbo jet.
But I finally gave it a try a few weeks ago, and I'll be honest - it was completely different from what I expected. So let me show you what the new player experience is like these days, where Warframe completely won me over, where it nearly lost me, and whether it's still worth jumping into today.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
CRPGs are weird. For the last twenty years, RPGs have been doing everything they can to become more approachable: less reading, fewer stats, simpler combat, less choices, and way bigger explosions.
Meanwhile CRPGs looked at that trend and just went: "Nah". Dialogue trees became forests. Character builds ballooned in complexity. And some of these games now expect you to read more than some people will in their entire life! You would think that this would completely doom the genre to irrelevance, but instead it's more popular now than it has been in decades.
And after playing through the Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy beta, I found myself wondering why that's the case. What actually makes a great CRPG? And does all that complexity really make the games better, or have we all just Stockholm Syndrome'd ourselves into enjoying spreadsheets?
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Moss: The Forgotten Relic raises a pretty interesting question: how do you make a VR game work without the VR? After all, Moss built its entire identity around you physically reaching into the world, pushing and pulling everything like a curious toddler.
So how do you make that work on a normal screen? Well, after playing through the demo a few times, it turns out the answer is "surprisingly well". Not perfectly, mind you. There are definitely some awkward bits. But it works a lot better than I expected.
But first, what even is Moss? Well, it's the stuff that grows on rocks, but also a puzzly adventure game with some light combat. It's less about hardcore platforming or controller-destroyingly difficult combat, and more about exploring a cozy fantasy world alongside Quill - a sword-wielding mouse with a remarkable talent for getting herself into trouble.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
One of Rogue Trader's biggest strengths has always been its ability to make Warhammer 40,000 feel weird and outlandish, yet also deeply personal. The Infinite Museion doubles down on that by introducing a delightfully eccentric tech-priest and sending you on the galaxy's most dangerous museum tour.
So after spending a week with the DLC, is The Infinite Museion an essential addition to Rogue Trader, or merely a pleasant diversion?
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Deep Rock Galactic is one of the greatest co-op games ever. There's nothing quite like joining a group of strangers, spewing sewage at bugs, and then leaving feeling like you've just spent an hour with old friends.
So what happens when you take that formula, crank up the pressure, add a ton of randomness, and make players compete against each other for the best loot? Well, after about 30 hours with the roguelite spin-off Rogue Core, I can tell you it makes everything more exciting, more chaotic, and occasionally a lot more frustrating. And sometimes, all three at once.
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Mina the Hollower is a game that's seemingly designed specifically to make go 'oooooooo!' It's a Zelda and Castlevania flavored dish, seasoned with so many secrets to find it's like a deliciously thick layer of cheese on top of it. And it's not the cheap stuff either. You don't need to hump every wall going 'ugh' until you find the fake one. There's always a subtle hint pointing you in the right direction. So subtle that you'll sometimes only notice it after you've already found the secret, and then feel like a right dumbass.
But when you do break into someone's house and notice their attic is hiding a bunch of loot, figuring out how to get there is a real treat. You can see there's some kind of an entrance to the top right, but you can't reach it from inside. So you explore the outskirts of the house and lo and behold, there's a gap in the neighbor's balcony you can slink through. And voilà, you're inside. It's a short little sequence, but it's clever, it's satisfying, and it gives you a heart attack once a clown abomination suddenly materializes from the hell dimension. What's not to love?
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Out of all the games I've played this year, Far Far West is the one that caught me completely off guard. I went in expecting a goofy roguelite shooter about robot cowboys fighting ghosts and aliens - something fun but kinda throwaway - and instead I found myself completely addicted to it. Because underneath all that goofiness is a surprisingly deep shooter that only gets more interesting the longer you play it.
So what exactly makes it so good? And does the Early Access version already have enough content to justify jumping in, or is it better to wait?
- By Ash
- in Reviews
Diablo 4 has a reputation... and it's not a great one. A lot of people either bounced off during its rough launch, or never even touched it because of... well, Blizzard being Blizzard. Which means a huge chunk of players have never actually seen what the game looks like today - after three years of updates, fixes, and now two major expansions.
So the big question is: what is Diablo 4 like today? Is it actually good? Does it still have major problems? And most importantly, is it worth your time and money?